CN101493919A - System and method for meta-data-linked advertisements - Google Patents

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing metadata-selected advertisements are provided. These systems and methods may receive metadata and other media, select objects, read metadata attached to or related to the selected objects, select advertisements based on the metadata, and display the selected advertisements. In addition, monitoring, collection and recording of predetermined data related to metadata selection advertisements may be provided. The invention also provides receivers for receiving signals and/or data (e.g., programs, advertisements, program guides, metadata, etc.), and for accepting user input signals, selecting objects, and reading Processor for selecting an ad and displaying the selected ad, related metadata.

Description

Systems and methods for metadata linked advertisements

This application is a divisional application with an international filing date of March 30, 2001, an application number of 01807136.8, and an invention title of "system and method for metadata link advertisement".

Cross References to Related Applications

This application claims priority to US Provisional Patent Application No. 60/193948, filed March 31, 2000, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Background technique

The present invention relates to advertising delivery systems and methods. More specifically, the present invention relates to systems and methods for linking advertisements and other media using metadata links.

With the advent of modern television equipment and communication networks, advertisers have been able to provide viewers with graphic advertisements, such as conventional television commercials. In the past, however, these systems have been limited in their functional capabilities, and generally only provided viewers with advertisements that were not or partially related to the content.

In order to increase the effectiveness of advertising, it is desirable for both the advertiser and the user to link the content of the advertisement with other media (eg, programs, applications, etc.) provided to viewers. As opposed to merely providing advertisements for products or services without additional information, linking these advertisements to other media will not only increase the effectiveness of the advertisements, but will also allow users to become more aware of the content of such other media.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for using metadata to tie advertisements and other media together.

Contents of the invention

In accordance with this and other objects of the invention, systems and methods for linking advertisements and other media are provided. These systems and methods allow advertising to be associated with other media by utilizing enhanced data sets referred to herein as "metadata." For example, metadata is data that can be used to describe a program, and can include any information that can be related to and/or can describe the program, its content, or services related to the program.

An aspect of the invention may include advertising targeted to other media based on metadata contained within such other media. For example, metadata may be provided at the scene level of a program. By providing metadata at the scene level, more descriptive information about a program or other media can be provided in a temporally relevant manner.

Another aspect of the invention may include advertisements provided within the display screen of the guide application based on metadata attached to the guide application or other media associated with the guide application. For example, in an interactive program guide, advertisements may be presented in a browsing overlay, which may be based on metadata associated with the currently selected listing. Additionally, the interactive program guide may present advertisements in menus or guide overlays based on metadata associated with the last program viewed.

Another aspect of the invention may include metadata including the source location of the ad. The source location can be, for example, a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). This source location may be recorded or saved by the guidance application. For example, when a recorded program is replayed, the guidance application may play advertisements from the location specified by the source.

Yet another aspect of the invention may include enabling a system provider to manage ad listings and provide sales and other data to advertisers. For example, a system provider may track valuable sales information and provide such information to advertisers by polling, monitoring user requests, or using any other scheme suitable for a selected implementation of the system.

Description of drawings

The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals represent the same parts, wherein:

Figure 1 is a block diagram of a system that can be used to implement various embodiments of the invention;

Figure 2 is a block diagram of user equipment that may be used in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention;

3 is a flow diagram of a process in which advertisements may be selected based on user selection of objects, which may be used with various embodiments of the invention;

4 is a flow diagram of a process in which advertisements may be selected based on stored metadata and/or other media, which may be used with various embodiments of the invention;

5 is a flow diagram of a process in which metadata may be utilized to download advertisements, which may be used with various embodiments of the invention;

6 is a flowchart of a process in which data related to metadata selection advertisements may be monitored, collected, and recorded, which may be used with various embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 7 illustrates screen displays that may be used to implement various embodiments of the invention.

Detailed ways

The present invention provides systems and methods for associating advertisements with other media (eg, programs, applications, etc.).

These systems and methods allow advertisements to be associated with other media by utilizing enhanced data sets referred to herein as "metadata." Metadata may be used to describe a broadcast program and may include any information that may be related to and/or describe the program, its content, or services related to the program. Metadata can describe, for example, the content of a show, whether commercials can be skipped during the playback of a recorded show, or the clothing worn by actors.

A user's device (eg, a set-top box) may transmit and/or receive metadata over any communication network (eg, cable system, satellite system, modem, radio paging frequency, Internet, etc., or any combination thereof). Additionally, a user's device may transmit and/or receive metadata on one or more broadcast channels. For example, a program may be received on a program channel and metadata for the program may be received through the vertical blanking interval (VBI) of the program channel. In addition, metadata may be provided using other existing analog and digital techniques, such as the Advanced Television Enhancement Forum (ATVEF) protocol for enhancing television programming.

An aspect of the invention may include advertising targeted to other media based on metadata contained within such other media. For example, metadata may be provided at the scene level of a program. Each scene of a show may display a different product. In a scene, an actor may drive a certain vehicle or wear a certain type of clothing. In another scene, an actor may be wearing a different costume, or another actor may be in the shot with other items advertised (eg, cell phone, sunglasses, etc.). As previously described, by utilizing metadata, these products can be linked with advertisements for these products. By providing metadata at the scene level, more descriptive information about a program or other media can be provided in a temporally relevant manner. In this way, the advertising effect of the product can be enhanced since the viewer can observe the product or service in a state of being worn, used or provided.

Another aspect of the invention may include advertisements provided within the display screen of the guide application based on metadata attached to the guide application or other media associated with the guide application. For example, in an interactive program guide, advertisements may be presented in the browse overlay, such advertisements may be based on metadata associated with the currently selected listing. Metadata for a program listing may include any descriptive information about the program itself, the channel on which the program is being broadcast, and/or any other information attached to or related to the program listing.

Another aspect of the invention may include metadata including the source location of the ad. The source location can be, for example, a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). For example, when a program is recorded, metadata can be recorded with the source location or saved by the guidance application. When the recorded program is played, the guidance application can play advertisements from a specified source (eg, using a URL contained in the recorded program). The system provider can then replace the previously saved and now obsolete advertisement with a new advertisement having the same identifier. Thus, when a program is recorded and subsequently played, new advertisements can be retrieved and presented simply by changing the advertisement's identifier.

Another aspect of the invention may include enabling a system provider to manage advertising listings and provide sales and other data to advertisers. As previously mentioned, the system provider can manage the list of advertisements by providing new advertisements. By providing new advertisements, the system provider controls which advertisements the viewer sees when the recorded program is played. By controlling which advertisements are viewed by the viewer during the broadcast, the system provider is able to sell air advertisement space to the advertiser.

Additionally, the system provider can provide advertisers with valuable sales information and other data. By polling, monitoring user requests, or using any other scheme appropriate to the chosen implementation of the system, the system provider can track valuable sales information and provide such information to advertisers. Marketing information may include recorded programs, number of times the advertisement was viewed, when the advertisement was viewed, etc., and may also include demographic information associated with the user account.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the system may include one or more receivers capable of receiving signals and/or data; one or more transmitters capable of transmitting signals and/or data; a processor that selects objects within the viewable plane of the display, reads metadata, selects an advertisement, and causes the advertisement to be displayed; and one or more storage devices capable of electronically storing signals and/or data.

In one embodiment of the invention, the system may include a processor that receives user input, reads metadata, downloads advertisements, and causes the advertisements to be displayed.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, the system may include a processor that monitors metadata-selected advertisements, collects data related to the metadata-selected advertisements, and causes the data to be recorded.

Figure 1 is a block diagram of a system 100 that may be used to implement various embodiments of the invention. System 100 may include media broadcaster 110 , advertisement broadcaster 120 , metadata broadcaster 130 , guide application and data broadcaster 140 , communication network 150 , user device 160 , and communication link 170 . Broadcast equipment 110, 120, 130, and 140 may be any suitable equipment for providing media (e.g., programs, applications, and other signals and data), such as video and data servers, live broadcast equipment, tape players, etc., and may be located on cable head end or at any other convenient location. Additionally, broadcasters 110, 120, 130, and 140 may be combined into a single broadcaster or otherwise combined.

Communications network 150 may be any suitable network that transmits signals and/or data to and/or receives signals and/or data from broadcasters 110 , 120 , 130 , and 140 . For example, network 150 may be the Internet, a satellite communication system, a cable system, a local area network, a wide area network, etc., or any combination thereof. Communication network 150 may use digital or analog technology or any combination thereof.

User equipment 160 may be any suitable device that receives, transmits, processes and/or displays signals and/or data received from and/or transmitted to broadcasters 110, 120, 130, and 140 . For example, user equipment 160 may be a one-way or two-way set-top box, a television with processing and storage capabilities, a personal video recorder, a video cassette recorder with processing capabilities, a personal computer, or the like.

Communications link 170 may be any suitable link that conveys data and/or signals, such as a dial-up connection, fiber optic cable, coaxial cable, DSL connection, etc., or any combination thereof.

Although not shown in FIG. 1 , system 100 may also include one or more remote storage devices that may be used to store media, advertisements, metadata, guidance applications, and data. These remote storage devices may receive media, advertisements, metadata, guide applications, and other data from broadcasters 110, 120, 130, and/or 140, may be controlled by any of broadcasters 110, 120, 130, and 140 and user equipment 160, and Media, advertisements, metadata, guidance applications, and other data may be provided to user device 160 over communications network 150 .

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the user equipment 160 shown in FIG. 1 . User equipment 160 may be used in accordance with various embodiments of the invention. User equipment 160 may include: receiver 220; transmitter 225; processor 280; storage devices 230, 240, 250, and 260; user display 270; recorder 275; audio output 277; /Video circuit 215. Receiver 220 may be any suitable device that receives guide application and data, and/or any other desired signal or data (eg, media, advertisements, metadata, guide application and data, URL addresses, audio, etc.). Transmitter 225 may be any suitable device for transmitting data and/or any other desired signal. As noted above, signals and/or data received and/or transmitted by receiver 220 and transmitter 225 may be transmitted and/or received over any communication network. Processor 280 may be any suitable device that accepts user input, reads metadata attached to or associated with advertisements and other media, selects advertisements, downloads advertisements from remote locations, and displays advertisements. Storage devices 230, 240, 250, and 260 may be used to store media, advertisements, metadata, audio, guide applications, and data, respectively. Any of storage devices 230, 240, 250, and 260 may be any device capable of storing signals and/or data (eg, a stand-alone video cassette recorder, disk drive, memory card, etc.). Storage devices 230, 240, 250, and 260 may also be combined into a single storage device or otherwise combined, if desired. Remote control 290 may be a keypad, touch display screen, panel, or any other wired or wireless device that a user may use to enter data. The remote control interface 295 can receive a signal from the remote control 290 and then send the signal to the processor 280 . Remote interface 295 may be, for example, a light detector. Audio/video circuitry 215 may be any suitable circuitry that converts data from processor 280 into audio and/or video signals for display on display 270 , recording on recorder 275 , and/or output at audio output 277 . Display 270 may be any suitable device for presenting images to a viewer, such as a television, monitor, computer monitor, personal digital assistant, or the like. Audio output 277 may be any suitable device that allows a user to listen to or otherwise provide an audio signal, such as an amplifier, speaker, or the like. Audio output 277 may be combined or partially combined with display 270 . Finally, recorder 275 may be any suitable device for recording video signals and data, such as a video cassette recorder, disk drive, memory card, or the like.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a process 300 according to various embodiments of the invention. As shown, at step 310, process 300 begins by receiving metadata and other media. As noted above, reception of metadata and other media may be accomplished through the use of receivers that receive signals and/or data.

Next, at step 320, process 300 may select an object located within the viewing plane of the viewing device. For example, process 300 may use an audio/video encoding method such as MPEG-4 that allows object determination. As mentioned above, the selection of the object may be realized by the processor utilizing the user's input signal. User input signals include commands to select an object displayed on the video display with the cursor and/or to move the cursor displayed on the video display to any point within the viewing plane of the video display. As described above, the user's input signal can be input through a wired or wireless remote controller.

In order to select a certain object, the processor may be running software that enables the selection of certain objects within the viewing plane of the video device. For example, the processor may utilize visual pattern recognition software that tracks colors, shapes, and the like. Alternatively, the processor may utilize downloaded pre-specified selectable target areas to select objects for display within the viewing plane of the viewing device.

At step 330, process 300 can read metadata. Metadata may be attached to and/or associated with the media or selectable objects embedded within the media. Reading metadata can be done by the processor. As described in detail above, metadata may include characteristics describing media and/or objects. Additionally, as described below, the metadata may include the source address (eg, URL) from which the advertisement was downloaded from a remote location.

At step 340, process 300 may select an advertisement. Selection of advertisements may be based on metadata attached to and/or associated with the media or selectable objects embedded within the media. For example, when media and/or selectable objects within the media are selected, metadata attached to and/or related to the media or selectable objects embedded within the media may be read. Subsequently, an advertisement corresponding to the read metadata may be selected. Advertisements may be selected by comparing metadata of the media or selection object with metadata from the advertisement. Advertisements may be served to the user's device at an appropriate frequency (e.g., periodically, on request, by polling, etc.) from an appropriate remote location, or may be served from advertisements previously stored on the user's system, as described below.

Finally, at step 350, process 300 may display the advertisement within the viewing plane of the viewing device.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a process 400 in which metadata may be used to select advertisements, which may be used to implement various embodiments of the invention. Process 400 represents the reception and reading of metadata and other media, and the selection and display of advertisements at steps 410, 430, 440, and 450, respectively. Steps 410 , 430 , 440 and 450 are basically the same as steps 310 , 330 , 340 and 350 described above in conjunction with FIG. 3 . Also represented in process 400 is the storage of metadata and other media of step 420 . As previously mentioned, metadata and other media may be stored on any suitable storage device, such as a disk drive, memory card, or the like. The storage device may be located locally or near the user's television viewing device, or may be remote from the user's viewing device.

5 is a flowchart of a process 500 in which metadata may be used to select advertisements, which may be used to implement various embodiments of the invention. Process 500 represents the receipt and reading of metadata and other media, and the display of advertisements at steps 510, 520, and 540, respectively. Steps 510 , 520 and 540 are basically the same as steps 310 , 330 and 350 described above in conjunction with FIG. 3 . Also represented in process 500 is the metadata-based advertisement download of step 530 . As previously mentioned, the metadata may include the source address (eg, URL) from which the ad was downloaded from a remote location. For example, a guidance application utilizing any suitable communication technology, such as the Internet using Hypertext Transfer Protocol, may obtain advertisements by downloading them from a source address. The advertisements presented to the viewer may be advertisements currently available at the source (eg, a web page). Over time, the advertiser or system provider can change the advertisements presented to the user by simply modifying the advertisements at the source. This allows a "new" ad to be served each time a user plays a recorded program.

Alternatively, these "new" advertisements may be served by assigning an identifier to a specific advertisement or group of advertisements. These advertisements with identifiers can be downloaded and saved in the user's equipment or the user's system at some suitable remote location can obtain these advertisements with identifiers at some suitable frequency (such as periodically, on demand, by polling, etc.). character ads.

6 is a flowchart of a process in which data related to metadata selected advertisements may be collected and recorded. Process 600 represents, at step 610, monitoring of metadata selected advertisements. As described above in connection with blocks 220 and 280 of FIG. 2, respectively, monitoring of metadata selected advertisements may be accomplished by a receiver and/or processor. Moreover, monitoring can be accomplished at any suitable time (eg, continuously, periodically, on demand, etc.). Process 600 also represents at step 620 the collection of data related to metadata selection advertisements. As described in detail above, such data collection may be accomplished by means of a processor. Finally, process 600 represents logging of data. The recording of data may be performed on any suitable storage device, such as a magnetic disk drive or a memory card.

In addition to monitoring, collecting and recording, as described in detail above, marketing information may also be provided to advertisers via the communication network. For example, sales information may be provided to advertisers in real time or in a packet time format. The grouped time format may include daily information, weekly information, monthly information, yearly information, and the like. As previously described, the marketing information may include information such as the program recorded, the number of times the ad was accessed, the time the ad was accessed, and/or include demographic information associated with the user account.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a program advertisement screen 700 shows an example of how advertisements are selected and displayed in accordance with the present invention. Program advertisement screen 700 may include cursor 710 , metadata selection advertisement 720 , scene 730 and order button 740 . Scene 730 represents a scene in which a user can select a certain object. As previously described in detail, through user input, the user can control the cursor 710 and the user can utilize the cursor 710 to select an object within the viewing plane of the video device, as shown in scene 730 . Selected ad 720 displays a display ad for the object selected by the user. The user then selects the order button 740 to order the selected items, if desired. Fees for selected items may be charged to the user's credit card number, the user's account, and/or other methods or for purchasing the item remotely.

Screen 700 is merely illustrative of the screens and methods that may be used to select and display metadata-selected advertisements. Any suitable screen and method of displaying advertisements may be used in accordance with the present invention.

Thus, systems and methods for providing metadata-linked advertisements are provided. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention may be practiced in other ways than the described embodiments, which are intended to illustrate the invention rather than limit it, the scope of the invention being limited only by the following The claims are limited.

Claims (53)

1. A method of providing advertisements using other media, comprising: selecting an object within the viewing plane of the viewing device; read the metadata associated with the object; Select ads based on metadata. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying an advertisement on the viewing device. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the selection of the object is based on user input. 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving metadata. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the metadata is received within other media. 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the metadata is received on a broadcast channel that also receives other media. 7. The method of claim 4, wherein the metadata is received on a separate broadcast channel from the other media. 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing metadata. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the metadata is stored on a single storage device. 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the metadata is stored on a plurality of storage devices. 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving advertisements. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein said received advertisement is received within other media. 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the advertisement is received on a broadcast channel that also receives other media. 14. The method of claim 11, wherein the advertisement is received on a separate broadcast channel than the other media. 15. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing advertisements. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the advertisements are stored on a single storage device. 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the advertisements are stored on a plurality of storage devices. 18. A method of providing advertisements using other media, comprising: receive metadata; read metadata; select advertisements based on metadata; and Show ads. 19. The method of claim 18, wherein said received metadata is received within other media. 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the metadata is received on a channel that also receives other media. 21. The method of claim 18, wherein the metadata is received on a separate broadcast channel than other media. 22. The method of claim 18, further comprising storing metadata. 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the metadata is stored on a single storage device. 24. The method of claim 22, wherein the metadata is stored on a plurality of storage devices. 25. The method of claim 18, further comprising receiving advertisements. 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the advertisement is received within other media. 27. The method of claim 25, wherein the advertisement is received on a broadcast channel that also receives other media. 28. The method of claim 25, wherein the metadata is received on a separate broadcast channel from the other media. 29. The method of claim 18, further comprising storing advertisements. 30. The method of claim 29, wherein advertisements are maintained on a single storage device. 31. The method of claim 29, wherein advertisements are stored on a plurality of storage devices. 32. A method of providing advertisements using other media, comprising: read metadata; download ads based on metadata; and Show ads. 33. The method of claim 32, wherein the metadata includes a source address. 34. The method of claim 33, wherein the source address is a Uniform Resource Locator. 35. The method of claim 33, wherein the source address is a telephone number. 36. A method of providing information associated with an advertisement selected by metadata comprising: Monitor metadata for selected ads; collect data related to advertisements selected by the metadata; and Record this data. 37. A system for providing advertisements using other media, comprising: A sink that receives metadata; a user input device that receives user input; and A processor that selects an object, reads metadata related to the object, selects an advertisement based on the metadata of the object, and causes the advertisement to be displayed. 38. The system of claim 37, wherein the processor selects the object based on user input. 39. The system of claim 37, wherein the receiver also receives other media. 40. The system of claim 37, wherein the receiver receives the metadata on a broadcast channel that also receives other media. 41. The system of claim 37, wherein the receiver receives the metadata on a different broadcast channel than other media. 42. The system of claim 37, further comprising storage means for storing metadata. 43. A system for providing advertisements using other media, comprising: a sink that receives metadata; and A processor that reads metadata, selects advertisements based on the metadata, and causes the selected advertisements to be displayed. 44. The system of claim 43, wherein the receiver also receives other media. 45. The system of claim 43, wherein the receiver receives advertisements on a broadcast channel that also receives other media. 46. The system of claim 43, wherein the receiver receives the metadata on a different broadcast channel than other media. 47. The system of claim 43, further comprising storage means for storing metadata. 48. A system for providing advertisements using other media, comprising: a sink that receives metadata; and A processor that reads metadata, causes advertisements to be downloaded based on information contained in the metadata, and causes the advertisements to be displayed. 49. The system of claim 48, wherein the receiver also receives other media. 50. The system of claim 48, wherein the receiver receives the metadata on a broadcast channel that also receives other media. 51. The system of claim 48, wherein the receiver receives the metadata on a different broadcast channel than other media. 52. The system of claim 48, further comprising storage means for storing metadata. 53. A system for providing information related to advertisements selected by metadata comprising: a receiver for receiving data related to metadata selection of advertisements; Processors that monitor metadata-selected advertisements, collect data related to metadata-selected advertisements, and cause such data to be recorded; and A storage device for storing said data.

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